Ballardites to be honored for community service

Posted by Geeky Swedes on March 2nd, 2010

Each year since 2006 the Ballard District Council recognizes Ballardites for their community service. This year, Mayor Mike McGinn will be presenting the awards at next week’s District Council meeting. The Ballard Community Service Award Committee has selected these recipients:

Steve Cohn is being honored for his leadership as president of the Ballard District Council from 2007 to 2009 as well as his strategic advice and hands-on work with a variety of civic improvement projects here in Ballard.

Art Olsen is being recognized for his resourcefulness and generosity, which has helped to make Ballard a desirable and economically powerful community. The entire Olsen family deserves much credit for preserving our Ballard Avenue Historic District and facilitating the process by which new businesses are born and flourish.

Barry Hawley is being recognized a leader in Ballard’s business community and his decades of commitment to making this community an attractive, economically viable, and desirable place to live, work and visit.

George and Jane Hancock are being honored for their tireless efforts to establish Maritime Pacific Brewery as a very unique and local icon for the Ballard community. Their recent investment expanding the brewery, maintaining it as a significant Ballard asset reminds us that these folks are truly committed to this community.

Jesse Harris, founder of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, has achieved phenomenal success as a film producer and serves as a role model for other young film makers.

The awards ceremony will be held next Wednesday, March 10th at 8 p.m. at the Ballard Library, during the monthly Ballard District Council meeting. Both the meeting and the ceremony are open to the public.

Barry Hawley of Hawley Realty is listed on the Ballard Chamber of Commerce website under officers and board of Directors as Vice President Issues. This is the Ballard Chamber of Commerce that is suing the city (taxpayers) to block completion of the missing link. Yet the city and the Ballard District council is honoring him while injuries continue for bicyclist through the missing link. My only assumption was that Barry was the lone dissenting voice or that the Chamber website has not been updated recently and Barry resigned in protest. Tell us Barry what is your position.

Oh for God's sake. Guess what, some of us don't care about the missing link! It's true! If the spandex minions are falling and hurting themselves over and over, perhaps they should choose a different route instead of infernally whining about it.

I just wish he knew that there are bicyclists who patronize local businesses. His office is next to a bike shop but last year he testified (against the trail) and he didn't even know there were bike racks on Ballard Avenue. There are many businesses that want to see the trail completed.